raindrops
by minachandler
Summary: It's Christmas Day, and even though Barry wakes up in Iris's arms, he can tell something's wrong. Smut.


The sound of raindrops splattering against the window wakes Barry with a start. He smiles, though, because of the arm wrapped around his waist and the leg curled around his right ankle.

Iris. She's here, with him, on Christmas Day, and her sleeping form is indeed the first thing he is greeted with when he awakens. Just the thought of her makes him giddy with hope, even though seconds later he remembers the future, and Savitar, and suddenly the smile slides off his face.

Still, her presence, wrapped around him, is reassuring, and impulsively he presses a kiss on the top of her head, then groans inwardly when she begins to stir. Barry waits, holding his breath, and slowly Iris's eyes flicker open.

"Hey," she says softly, and Barry marvels over how his heart still skips a beat when she smiles at him.

"Hi," he replies after a second, and he can't help but reach out and tuck her hair behind her ear. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

Iris yawns. "'S'okay, Bear." Then she leans in and kisses him. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas, Iris."

He finds himself burying his face in her neck, dropping a kiss on her collarbone, and Iris sighs contentedly, her hand searching for his so her fingers can tangle with Barry's. Then she pulls away, though, and she laughs at the look on Barry's face.

"What's up?" he asks, trying not to sound too disappointed.

"I need to get up. Shower. Dad's probably wondering where we got to. But I, uh, don't have any clothes with me."

"I'll go to your apartment and get some for you," he offers.

"Thank you," Iris says gratefully.

Barry makes to get up, but there's something about the way Iris looks at him that has him concerned.

"Hey," he says. "You okay?"

Iris shakes her head as if coming out of a reverie. "Yeah," she says, and she tries for another smile but this time it comes out as more a grimace.

"Is this about what I told you earlier?" he asks. "About Savitar?"

"No, I'm fine," she says, and Barry must not look convinced because seconds later she's reaching up to kiss his cheek. "I'm okay, Barry, really. I'd tell you if something was wrong, I promise."

Barry smiles back, before getting out of bed, speeding around, finding his clothes and pulling them on. Iris watches him, looking utterly bemused, and Barry can't help but laugh.

"You'll get used to it," he tells her with a grin. Iris just nods, still with a faint smile on her face, and Barry speeds away.

He's back minutes later, a pile of Iris's things now on the bed. He's greeted with the sound of the shower running, and he smiles when he sees she's left the door slightly ajar. Steam pours out from the gap, and tentatively - after kicking off his shoes and socks - Barry pushes it open with his hand.

To his surprise, though, he immediately hears the sound of crying, and he steps inside without thinking.

"Iris?" Barry says uncertainly. The curtain is drawn, so he can only just about make out her faint silhouette through the barrier between them.

Her voice is thick with tears when she says, "That was fast."

"Iris," he says again, "are you - what's wrong?"

He waits, holding his breath, and thankfully seconds later she pushes back the curtain. The steam obscures most of her body, but even Barry can tell from her red eyes that she's upset.

"I…" Iris starts to say, but her tears seem to overwhelm her and Barry automatically reaches out with both arms to catch her as she presses her face against his shoulder. She's dampening his shirt, but he doesn't care - he just holds her, for dear life, the way she's holding him.

"Shhh."

"You were right," she says at last, when finally she can meet his eyes. "I - this is about what you told me. About Savitar."

"You can talk to me," he says softly. "Especially about this."

And at this Iris doesn't smile, exactly, but Barry can tell that relief washes over her from the way she lets out a breath she probably didn't even realise she'd been holding.

"Thank you," she whispers, and she reaches down, unbuttoning his shirt, which is sodden now from the steady spray of water of the shower. Barry does the same with his pants, pulling them off quickly, but even so he hesitates for a moment, searching her eyes for permission. She nods, holding out her hand, and he takes it, stepping into the shower with her.

Unexpectedly she kisses him, and it's hard and fast and not what Barry anticipates at all, as she pushes him against the shower wall with her palm on his chest, right above his heart.

"I love you," she tells him, the words a warm murmur against his lips.

But he can taste the tears, too, and as much as he would like to lose himself in their kiss, when he replies with "I love you too" he cups her cheek with his hand and looks down at her questioningly. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"Just… I know what I said, Barry. About how we make our own future. And it's not that I don't believe that. I'm just…" She trails off.

"Scared?" Barry says eventually.

"Yeah," Iris admits. "I've seen what Savitar can do. To you. To Jay, Wally - and I don't want… I don't want to die, Barry."

Barry pulls her towards him, so he's hugging her tightly, and he can feel the gentle swell of her breasts against his chest and the press of her thigh against his knee.

"I won't let him hurt you," he tells her. "And I swear, Iris, I will protect you. If it's the last thing I ever do, I will keep you safe."

"Barry -"

"I mean it," he says firmly, and he pulls away now, so he can cradle her cheeks with both his hands. "I'll do whatever it takes, Iris. I'm not going to let Savitar take you away from me. Not when…"

He trails off, though, and when Iris meets his eyes, fingers curling around his wrists, she says, "Not when what?"

"Not when I have everything I've ever wanted to have with you," he says finally. "I'm not giving that up. Or you. Ever."

"Like I said," she says with a smile, "there's a reason you're my guardian angel." Barry smiles back. "But I just… I know I said what I said. And I stand by that. It's just hard, sometimes."

"What's hard?" Barry asks.

"Knowing the right thing to say. With you. Being strong for you when you need me to be."

"I don't need you to _be_ anything," he says firmly. "But I do need you. Always. And now more than ever after what I saw."

"For the record," Iris says, "I couldn't do what I do without you either."

"It's a good thing we'll always have each other, then," Barry says.

"Bear… how long did you say, until…" Even now she doesn't seem to be able to bring herself to say it.

"Months from now. But I promise, Iris, we will figure something out before then. I'll tell Cisco, Caitlin, Wally, Joe, God, even HR if he can help somehow. I'll even bring in Ollie and Team Arrow if I have to. And they will help. And everything will be okay."

"That's all I needed to hear," says Iris, and her eyes fill with tears again. Barry reaches up, wipes them away with his thumb, then bends down a little so he can kiss her. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm being like this. It's meant to be Christmas."

"You never have to apologise to me," he tells her firmly. "Not ever."

He kisses her again, and this time he doesn't taste the salt of tears but rather the warmth of her smile as her lips upturn in time with his. She presses herself up against him, and he groans when her hand strays below his navel and inside his underwear.

"You first," he murmurs, and he gently pushes at her shoulders so her back is against the wall and he can kiss her neck. One hand goes up to cradle her breast, thumb brushing against her nipple. Barry delights in how it grows stiff at his touch, and moments later he's ducking his head to drop a kiss on her breast. His tongue darts out and he teases her nipple, dragging in slow circles around her breast, making her gasp, which only turns him on even more.

When he finally releases her breast, his mouth continues its journey downwards, pressing softly against her stomach, down the side of her hip, stopping at the juncture between her abdomen and thigh. Iris moans needingly, her hand going through his hair and settling on the back of his neck.

"Barry…"

"Iris," he mouths into the damp skin of her inner thigh, and he's kneeling between her legs, now, kissing his way up to her centre. His fingers are already there, sliding easily inside her, and Iris arches into him when he finds her weak spot. His nose nudges against her centre, and he breathes in the scent of her arousal, hot and wet. And then his tongue replaces where his fingers have been and she's gasping for air and saying his name and she tastes so sharply sweet in his mouth. When she comes it's with a soft groan, Iris rocking her hips against Barry.

Then she pulls him up with both hands, kisses him, and there's something inexplicably arousing about the knowledge that she's tasting her own sweet taste on his lips, something that makes him yank down his boxers, letting them fall to the shower floor.

And when he's inside her, lifting her off her feet, he knows he's not going to last long. He holds onto her shoulders, and her beautiful rich eyes are watching him as he closes his eyes and tries to stave off his climax.

"Iris… God, Iris…"

He keeps saying her name, like a prayer, and somehow that seems to help the stupendous effort it seems to take to stop himself coming now. Iris moves with him, wriggling her hips, and she's moaning now, like she's gotten used to him, but Barry's close now, he can tell, and it doesn't take much more for him to come, his face buried in Iris's neck.

"God, I love you," Barry says with a sigh, after he kisses her lips clumsily. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Iris whispers back. "And I always will."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

But then Barry has to look away, reminded inexplicably of when future!Iris told future!Barry she loved him.

"Iris?" he says.

"Barry?"

"I…" he begins to say, but then he stops. It's Christmas, after all, and he's determined to make good on his vow to spend every moment possible with her. He smiles, then, and shakes his head. "Nothing. I - happy Christmas."

She smiles back, kisses him. "Happy Christmas, Barry."


End file.
